No fresh land ordinance, open to changes: PM

Faced with stiff resistance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced that the government will not re-promulgate the controversial Ordinance on Land Acquisition, which expires on Monday, and expressed readiness to incorporate suggestion in the Bill, which is pending in the Rajya Sabha.

Apparently referring to the political opponents, the Prime Minister said a lot of doubts have been created over the Land Bill and fear instilled among farmers, even though states had suggested amendments to the Act of 2013 for the benefit of villages and farmers.

“We had promulgated an Ordinance on Land Acquisition Bill, which will expire tomorrow. I have decided that it should be allowed to expire. It means <g data-gr-id="27">restoration</g> of the situation that prevailed before my government took over,” the Prime Minister said in his monthly radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’. 

The government has issued the Ordinance thrice so far, as the Land Bill could not be passed in Parliament due to stiff resistance by most of the Opposition parties as well as some NDA allies.

The Bill, which seeks to amend the Act of 2013, is currently being scrutinised by a Joint Committee of Parliament. The Bill was referred to the committee by Rajya Sabha during the Budget Session in the wake of strong opposition by several parties.

The Prime Minister’s announcement makes it clear that the government will try to use <g data-gr-id="31">legislative</g> route to <g data-gr-id="30">enact</g> the law, instead of <g data-gr-id="32">executive</g> mechanism. Highly-placed sources explained that the decision of not re-promulgating the Ordinance was taken against the backdrop of the recommendation of NITI Aayog that enacting law on land acquisition should be left to states, since the subject is on the Concurrent List of the Constitution. 

The sources pointed out that the Bill on land acquisition was still pending before Rajya Sabha and the government is awaiting the report of the Joint Committee of Parliament on it. Insisting that the voice of farmers matters the most to him, the Prime Minister said: “The government has an open mind on the Land Acquisition Bill, about which there is a lot of <g data-gr-id="28">controversy</g>. I have said it again and again that I am ready to accept any suggestion for the benefit of farmers.”

Modi, during his 20-minute address, maintained that suggestions to “improve” upon the Land Act of 2013 had come from states, which wanted the law to be made free from the “clutches of bureaucracy” and ensure development of villages and welfare of farmers by providing irrigation canals, electric poles, roads, houses and help poor villagers get employment.